Obesity is increasing globally. In our own backyard, more than half of U.S. adults are overweight
(64.5 percent) and nearly one-third (30.5 percent) are obese. Read more about prevalence of obesity at one of the sites below.
How Many People in the U.S. are Overweight or Obese?
Find some interesting statistics from the Center's for Disease Control (CDC):
What is the Obesity Rate in Your State?
Do You Live in a City with a High Obesity Rate?
Obesity Around the World
There are over 300 million obese adults, according to the World Health Organization and 1.1 billion overweight people worldwide. Being underweight used to be much more common worldwide than obesity. Now the two conditions co-exist, with half of the world's population underweight and the other half overweight.
How Does Obesity Affect Specific Populations?
Obesity impacts many lives; male and female of all ages, races, economic background, and levels of education.
Racial / Ethnic Populations
African American and Hispanic Americans have higher rates of overweight and obesity compared to Caucasian Americans.
Women
Nearly two-thirds of the population of American women (62 percent) are overweight and at least one-third (34 percent), obese.
Education Level
Obesity has increased across all education levels and is highest among people with less education.
Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1991-1998.
Women with less education have a higher prevalence of overweight. Men, however, have a high prevalence of overweight (above 50 percent) at all education levels.
